Starting Over
by LoveandLearn
Summary: The Captain show up in Seattle only to discover that Addison's marriage is falling apart. Largely Addison/Captain centric but there is some Addek in there. One-Shot!


The Captain quietly looked around the surgical wing as soon as he stepped off of the elevator. He hoped to spot his daughter right away but that wasn't the case so he went up to the nurse's station and cleared his throat for attention. "Can you tell me where I might be able to find Dr. Addison Montgomery?" he asked with as much kindness as he could muster up.

"She goes by Dr. Montgomery-Shepherd...or just Dr. Shepherd." the nurse informed him. "According to the surgical schedule, she's in an OR right now. She should be finishing up unless there were complications. I can page her and she'll come by to see you as soon as she has the chance. You just might have to wait a little because she's still gotta close, scrub out, talk to the patients family and maybe do a quick post-op."

"I don't mind waiting." he answered the woman. "Thank you for the help." he added with a charming smile.

"You can have a seat in the waiting room. I'll send Dr. Shepherd as soon as she arrives."

He sat in the waiting room of the surgical wing for twenty-five minutes before he caught a glimpse of his daughter. When he saw her approaching the nurses' station and got up from his seat to meet her there. And just as he expected, Addison froze as soon as she saw him.

"Captain." She murmured in shock. "What are you doing here?" She did not look happy to see him and that was something everyone around them saw effortlessly.

"I'm not allowed to visit anymore?" he asked in response. "You left without saying anything to anyone. Mercy West called me for a consult, I didn't want to fly out here at first but I decided it would be a good excuse to see you and spend some time with you."

"I don't have time for this, Captain, I'm at work. I've got a lot to do." she replied, taking a step to walk away from him.

The Captain reached out to take her arm and stop her. "Kitten, I came all the way over here to see you."

"Addison." she instantly corrected. "My name is Addison." she repeated, slowly feeling more and more like the little girl her father would always see her as.

"You're right, I'm sorry. Would you want to go out for a drink?"

"At 8:30 am?" Addison asked incredulously. "I'm at work, I'm a surgeon. I can't go out and down a few shots with you then come back and step into an OR to cut someone open."

"Fine, we can have breakfast. Well, not breakfast, if I remember correctly, you hate breakfast. So maybe we can just get coffee and talk?"

"I'm busy." she repeated again.

"Please, Addison, I'm trying here. I don't know what to do and you're making it very hard."

"I honestly don't have time for this right now. I have to go, I've got patient waiting." she said firmly then walked away before the Captain could say anything else.

"Is that the guy she cheated on McDreamy with?" one of the nurses whispered to the other.

"Why would she have an affair with someone so...old." the other replied. "Although I suppose some women are turned on by that. Was it just me or did he have some sort of feline nickname for her? I bet she earned that nickname in the sack."

* * *

"Where have you been?" Derek snapped as soon as he saw her walking out of the elevator onto the surgical floor with a cup of coffee in her hand. He had heard rumors; nurses whispering that some man came to see Addison and offered to take her out so they could speak privately. It made him furious and nervous at the same time.

"What the hell does it matter? Since when do I have to notify you before every move I make?" she responded. "I needed coffee because I'm exhausted. I have been working all night but my schedule is full so I need to stay awake. I don't have time for a nap. I went out for five minutes to buy myself coffee. Is that a crime?"

"The nurses have been talking and I just happened to catch a little bit of the conversation. They said your lover is here." Derek accused.

"My lover?" Addison asked, her brow raised as she turned to look at Derek. "Well technically you're my lover and you'd obviously have to be here because you work here."

"I'm talking about Mark, Addison." Derek snapped impatiently. "Their description of him was a little bit off but they got the basics right. Tall, light hair...Weird sexual nicknames for you. Wild Cat or something..."

"Wild Cat? No one has ever called me Wild... Oh! Kitten? That was the Captain, Derek! Tall, light hair, well..not light, more like white, you probably heard wrong. He's been calling me kitten since I was a baby. They dressed me as a kitten for my first Halloween. I was like less than a month old and the Captain thought it was adorable so the nickname stuck."

"Your father is here?" Derek asked with a grimace. He'd been married to Addison long enough to know that a visit from her parents never ended well.

"He's on a consult for Mercy West." she explained briefly.

"Oh..."

"So you've got nothing to worry about, Mark is not here." she finished. "I have to get back to my patients." she added quietly before walking away from her husband.

* * *

"Well, if it isn't my favorite son-in-law." The Captain greeted sarcastically when bumped into Derek just outside the hospital.

"I'm your only son-in-law." Derek reminded the Captain unenthusiasticly.

"You're right. And since we're on the topic of correcting that statement it should be noted that even if you are my only son-in-law, you're still not my favorite."

"What are you doing here, Captain? Addison said you're consulting at Mercy West. Why are you hanging around here?"

"I guess I'm just killing time and hoping Addison changes her mind and wants to see me." the Captain answered with a shrug. "I heard about your affair."

Derek chuckled nervously. "What?"

"Yeah. All I had to do is smile at a nurse and she told me all of the latest gossip involving you and my daughter. Turns out you came out here and fell in love with an intern before my daughter moved out here to be with you. Does Addison know?"

"Of course she knows."

"And then I find out that you took Addison back after her indiscretions. I was honestly a little relieved because I may think you're an ass-hole but, for whatever reason, my daughter loves you and she deserves to be happy. And then it turns out that you just took her back as some sick twisted form of revenge. The nurses say that it's obvious that you're still in love with the intern. They say you treat my daughter like she's worthless to you."

"I am not in love with the intern anymore and I'm trying to fix my marriage." Derek started defensively.

"You can't bull shit a bull shitter, Derek." The Captain reminded him. "I saw Addison this morning. I may not be father of the year material but I know my daughter is unhappy and I know that's because of you."

"I.." Derek started but the Captain cut him off before he could say anything.

"You know why it bothers me so much? Because she's gone through this her entire life. She never had the kind of parents she deserves, we weren't present and warm and attentive. I regret that but the fact of the matter is that that is how Addison was brought up. I always wished that she'd marry someone who could give her all of that. She deserved to be the center of someone's world. You made her think you can do that for her but I saw through it. I knew this is how it would be. And now she's in her late thirties and she's never had love she deserves, not from her parents and not from her husband."

"Well, then you're at fault just as much as I am." Derek accused. "She hates you, she doesn't hate me."

"I know I'm at fault. Unlike you, Derek, I am willing to admit that I screwed up my relationship with her and I'm willing to do whatever I can to fix that."

* * *

The Captain spent two consecutive days sitting in the waiting room of the surgical wing. He hoped that sooner or later Addison would find him there and maybe agree to talk to him. He sat in the rather uncomfortable chair, watching doctors and nurses go in and out to talk to patients' family. When his daughter was the one to walk into the room, he felt a sense of pride that he could not convey in words. She went right past him toward an anxious couple. All she had to do was smile at the young parents and all their worries were gone.

"The surgery went great." she announced. "He did fantastic, no complications whatsoever." she told the parents.

"Can we see him?" the woman asked. "I want to see my baby."

"We're moving him to the NICU, I want him to stay there for 12 hours just as a precaution. A nurse will come get you as soon as he's there and settled." Addison promised.

"Thank you, Dr. Shepherd."

And those words killed the Captain's moment of pride. His daughter was a representative for the Shepherd name rather than the Montgomery legacy. She was part of her husband's family rather than her own.

"Addie." The Captain got up and moved toward her before he had a chance to leave the room.

"You're not here for work, are you?" she accused.

"What makes you say that?"

"Because you spent all of yesterday in this room and I made an art of avoiding you. And you're back today doing the same thing. Now, correct me if I'm wrong but the Seattle Grace Surgical Wing waiting room is not Mercy West."

"I'm not here on a consult for Mercy West. I'm here for you." the Captain finally admitted. "I just want to talk to you, Addie, please."

Addison gave in, "Fine." she said. "I'm starving. I was gonna go down to the cafeteria to grab something to eat. You can come with me if you want." she offered. "But I'm only giving in because I always eat alone and I think people are starting to think I'm a loner."

The Captain agreed and accompanied her to the hospital's cafeteria. He told his daughter to find a table and take a seat while he got their food. He placed a tray in front of her and took a seat across the table. "Oh, and I got you desert too." he said, placing a Twix bar on her tray. "Those were your favorite when you were little."

Addison nodded. "Thanks." she said, looking down at the food in front of her. "This does not look like the cafeteria's salad." she commented as she opened the plastic container.

"That is because it's not. It's Chinese Chicken Salad from that little asian-American fusion bistro down the street. I was there for dinner last night and the waiter said one of his regular customers looks a lot like me. And he saw Montgomery on my credit card and said it was funny because her maiden name was Montgomery too so I kind of put the pieces together. When I went back today to get something for you he said the Chinese Chicken Salad was your usual. "

"Thank you." she said quietly, stabbing her fork into the food. "So why are you here? Why did you want to see me?"

"I just missed you. You're my little girl, I'm allowed to miss you."

"I'm almost 37 years old." she reminded her father. "I'm not a little girl in any sense of the word."

"Kitten, you could be 77 and you'd still be my little girl." the Captain answered, forgetting her disdain for the nickname. "I want to see you, I wanted to talk to you, try to work things out with you. I remember all those summers we spent sailing, I loved having that time with you. You hated every minute of it but I was grateful for the opportunity to bond with you and to teach you how to sail."

"I can't sail if my life depended on it." Addison replied bluntly, letting him know that he hadn't taught her anything during those so-called sailing lessons.

"I just want more opportunities to spend time with you."

"Oh..." Addison murmured, unsure of how she felt about her father's wish.

"You don't want to do anything beyond this lunch if you don't want to. I'll respect your choice if you have no room in your life for me. But I'd be very grateful if we could try to work things out. You're my little girl, I don't want to miss out on your life."

"Why don't we start with the lunch and see how it goes." she decided.

The Captain nodded his agreement. "So, talk to me. Tell me how are things going out here."

Addison shrugged. "They're fine." she answered. "Same shit, different city." she added in a murmur.

"Can I ask you something? And you have the right to get mad at me and walk away but I just have to ask."

"Okay." Addison said, looking up from her food to her father.

"Why are you still with Derek? I've heard so much from the nurses about the way he treats you. I know about the intern and the affairs and everything. Why would you stay with him after all of that?"

"I love him." she whispered, shrugging her shoulders again for lack of a better answer. "I don't know. I've been with him for a third of my life, I can't remember my life without him."

"And that answer would be enough for me if I asked you five years ago. Because there was a time when he made you the happiest woman on the face of this Earth. But now he's in love with someone else and he treats you like you're no one to him. You don't deserve that, Addison. And its just going to get worse. You deserve so much more. I don't want to see you get any more hurt than you already are."

"Thanks for having so much faith in my marriage." Addison remarked sarcastically. She quickly got up from her seat, leaving her barely eaten Chinese Chicken Salad. "You need to leave. I don't want to see you in my waiting room anymore. I don't want you anywhere near me if you can't support my choices." she said before she walked away.

* * *

Not long after the Captain returned to Connecticut, Derek asked Addison to accompany him to the hospital organized prom. She was ecstatic, happier than she'd even been since moving to Seattle. She hoped this was an opportunity to prove to herself that her father was wrong. Derek danced with her, holding her close and smiling every now and then. He was called away from her for a little while but came back promptly to take her home, saying he had to return to the hospital for a surgery. Addison was understanding of the situation, glad to have gotten some affection from her husband throughout the evening.

"It's freezing outside, Ad." he told her, shrugging the suit jacket off as she left the hospital. He helped her put it on and escorted her to the car to drive her home. He dropped her off and the trailer at the crack of dawn then returned to work.

Addison sighed, a smile on her lips as she sat down on the foot of their bed. She rubbed her hands together to warm them then decided that putting them in the pockets of Derek's blazer may be more effective. And that when the day took a turn for the worst. Her hand curled around a silky fabric and she pulled it out curiously only to discover it was another woman's panties. Her heart sank.

After pulled the famous bulletin board stunt, Addison bought tickets on the first flight out to Seattle. She got a cab to take her right to her parents' house only to find out that her father was at work. They told her had had final exams to mark and grades to calculate.

So she got right back in that cab and had the driver take her to Yale's School of Medicine. Ignoring the secretary at the entrance of the faculty building, she went straight to her father's office.

"M'am, the professors do not see students without an appointment." the secretary called after her, following her all the way to his second floor office.

She walked into the office without knocking, relieved that her father wasn't screwing his whore-of-the-week. "Daddy..." she started off weakly, surpising herself and the Captain with the name choice. He was sure she hadn't addressed him with the title of father since she was five or six years old. He dropped the pen in his hand and got up from his seat to go around his desk.

"I'm sorry, sir, I tried to stop her. I told her you don't see students without an appointment but she wouldn't listen." The secretary explained when she finally caught up with Addison at the Captain's office.

"She's not a student. She's my daughter." the Captain informed, assuring the woman that he wasn't upset about the interruption. He asked for privacy and Addison waited until the office door was closed before she walked into her father's arms and sobbed into his shoulder.

"Addie?" he asked, pulling away from her just to look into her eyes.

"You were right." she admitted regretfully. Three more words she had never imagined saying to her father.

"I was right about what?" he asked.

"Derek cheated on me with the intern."

"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry." he said softly, wrapping his arms securely around her to comfort her like he never did when she was a child.

"A third of my life, I invested a third of my life so far in that relationship." she mumbled into his shoulder.

The Captain hesitantly placed a hand on her upper back and softly rubbed it in circles, he wasn't sure if it was the right gesture because he'd never been in the position to provide warmth and comfort for his daughter. "Addie, I've been saying it since the day you introduced him to me and your mother; you deserve better than him. You deserve someone who will give you a world of love and happiness. Someone who will never stop appreciating the amazing person that you are."

"I wasn't sure where else to go." Addison admitted quietly, pulling out of his arms to take a seat on a chair in front of his desk. "I don't have anyone to turn to anymore. Just goes to show you how pathetic my life has become."

"I'm glad you chose to come here, Addie. I just wish I'd made myself more availible to you while you were growing up. I should have made more time for you and your brother. I should have built some sort of relationship with you because then maybe you would have listened to me and not married the first asshole that claimed to love you." The Captain shook his head with disappointment in himself.

"I secretly loved when you took me sailing." Addison smiled fondly. "You spent so much time trying to teach me to sail. I think we spent three consecutive summers on that boat and I still don't know how to sail."

"Yes, and one of those summers was the year you decided you should be a lawyer. God, that was absolute torture for me. You brought an LSAT book on the boat and ignored me the whole time to "get a head start." You're lucky I didn't have a heart attack in the middle of the ocean. You were born to be a surgeon. You tired operating on your teddy better with your fake doctor kit and when you realized plastic wasn't capable of making an incision you tried getting a knife from the kitchen. You were like...six maybe."

Addison laughed and nodded, "The lawyer thing was an interesting phase. I didn't even think you noticed let alone actually cared."

The Captain shrugged, "Of course I noticed it. You were born to cut! But I didn't say anything because I wanted you to do what would make you happy. I guess that's why I stood aside and let you get married. You hated me enough as it is, I didn't want to meddle in your life and make you hate me more."

"I didn't hate you."

"Don't lie, Addison. You're a terrible lier and you've got the worst poker face I've ever seen. You would probably be a terrible lawyer." her father teased.

"It doesn't really matter what I thought in the past. I have obviously been wrong about a lot of decisions in the past. I'm trying to put it all behind me, I want to move on with my life and this is my first step." Addison answered her father honestly. "What is important is that I want to you in my life now, I want your input. I want to have my father around."

The Captain nodded. "I appreciate the chance, Addison. I'm here for you, you know that. I will do whatever you need to help you through this. I can find you an amazing divorce lawyer, it'll be over before you know it and you can move on. No need to drag it on any longer."

Addison nodded. "Yeah..." she agreed quietly.

"You okay, Kitten?" he asked softly, noticing her demeanor change suddenly. He assumed the thought of divorce was sinking in and he knew it couldn't be easy for her.

"My marriage is over." she mumbled, letting the thought sink in.

"I know, Addie. I'm sorry." the Captain replied softly, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Her marriage was over, but her relationship with her father was just staring and he would make sure that no man would hurt her again. Anyone who hurt his little girl would answer to him.

* * *

So I think the Captain is capable of being an awesome Dad. Sue me. He cared, he seemed like he wanted to fix his relationship with Addison but he didn't know how. Sure he had a fucked up moral compass (i.e sleeping with Violet) but his heart was in the right place. I mean, he did fly out to LA just to spend time with Addison and building a relationship with her. He wanted to comfort her when she was hurting over Bizzy's secret. Idk, I thought it was cute that he was willing to try after so many years of being estranged. So I want to write something Addison/Captain centric and this was born. Hope you guys like it!

Let me know what you think! Did you guys get the same impression from the Captain from his PP appearances?


End file.
